Shore v Kings
by “Gary Owen III”
The return clash between Shore and Kings at Northbridge to commence round two of the competition, was eagerly awaited by the faithful of both schools.
A close first-up game (21-7 to Kings) had been followed by some rather one sided affairs of which neither side was on the high side of the ledger – so this contest was viewed by both schools as a chance to take something away from the season.
The 2nd XV clash went down to the wire with Shore holding on to win 10-5, and the weather was fine and the pitch in good condition as the two teams ran on.
First half
A Shore mistake early set the scene for Kings to counter and following some strong forward play on the fringes, No. 8 Dylan Pietsch crashed over to continue his run of “pies”. Extras were added by No, 14 Chris Orpen.
Soon after Shore were on the attack, a turnover enabled Kings to move the ball the length of the field. Pietsch was dominant in the play again as 13 Nick Stubbs crossed for their second try. No extras were added as Kings led 12-0.
This was effectively the story for most of the first half. Shore had moments of play where they put some phases together through the forwards or inside backs, but each time a turnover put Kings back in ascendency.
Shore twice turned down shots for goal to go for a close line-out but each time were thwarted by errors. Kings on the other hand were excellent in the pigs – Pietsch, Chapman and Brown were leading the charge and making good ground on the fringes
Shore were also battling injury as no. 4 Hugh Finlay went off with concussion after 25 minutes, and then they lost no. 13 Nathan Corbett to a head injury after an ugly scuffle late in the first half.
The players and crowd reacted and there was a fair bit of niggle in the game after that. The referee tried to regain control and at one stage penalised a Shore player for patting his opponent on the head after a knock-on.
Kings launched an attack from there and No. 11 Jake Laferla scored out wide.
Half-time score: Kings 17 – Shore 0.
Second half
The second half was somewhat similar. Kings big forwards were dominating and giving their backs a wonderful platform, whilst the Shore inside backs were not getting off the line quickly and giving Kings plenty of time to use the ball.
Tries to Kings No. 4 Nick Brown, No. 12 Matt Orpen and No. 14 Chris Orpen all came from this pattern. No conversions helped limit the damage on the scoreboard.
Final score: Kings 32 – Shore 0
Shore’s highlights were all in defence – a couple of try- saving tackles kept the scoreline from blowing out even further. Shore No. 11 Ed Gregory’s run of about 50 metres to cut down a break from a flying Kings No. 9 Louis Heaton in the corner was a beauty.
But they had little pill themselves to speak of and when they did manage to put some phases together Kings were forcing turnovers at the breakdown.
The Shore backs were under lots of pressure and as a result didn’t get the chance to spin any clean ball past the centres. Injury also marred the second half for Shore as No. 9 Will Haskins (knee) and No. 5 Rory Suttor (shoulder) both left the field.
The Players
Kings
3 points – No. 8 Dylan Pietsch – was outstanding in both attack and defence. Made some huge inroads when he had the ball and grabbed some key pilfers.
2 points – No. 4 Nick Brown – dominated with his large physical presence and was powerful as he ran with the ball. Was rewarded with some meat.
1 point – No. 3 Harry Chapman – performed as you would expect from a representative player of his class. Monstered the scrum and had his team on the front foot all game.
Shore
3 points – No. 11 Ed Gregory – whilst didn’t see much ball in attack his defence was huge. Made a heap of tackles, including three try-savers which had the crowd cheering.
2 points – No. 6 Robin Allen – on debut in the top grade and showed he was not out of place. Solid in defence and secured a couple of pilfers for his side.
1 point – (shared) No. 8 Fergus Bragg and No. 9 Will Haskins – both tried hard and did a lot of defensive work under immense Kings pressure. Bragg was in his 5th positional change this season.
The wrap-up
Kings will be happy with the performance which would make them very competitive with the top sides if they can repeat it. Their forwards were fantastic and laid the platform for the backs to do their thing. With six of these forwards returning for 2016 it would seem Kings will be one of the teams to note for next season.
Shore showed they don’t lack passion nor courage, but to compete at this level will need to improve. On that performance, pillar and post defence, and line-speed in the backs, both need work.
A mounting injury toll is not helping them either; so the boys from Northbridge will need to dig deep for the rest of the season.
Scoring
Kings 32 (D.Pietsch, N.Stubbs, J.Laferla, N.Brown, M.Orpen, C.Orpen tries; C.Orpen con) def. Shore 0
Photos of Shore v Kings by “Not in straight”
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